Western Highlands Province: Scenes from Papua New Guinea's road conditions

Road conditions in Papua New Guinea are deteriorating at a faster rate as minimal or no maintenance is done by successive governments. With no proper road maintenance or plan in place, road accidents in most parts of Papua New Guinea are increasing each day.

As they say, 'pictures speak a thousand words', the few images below are taken from various parts of Papua New Guinea depicting how Papua New Guineans are enduring the pain and suffering each day at the hands of their own government's failure to honor 'service delivery' mechanisms to its people. Pictures courtesy of The National News and Post Courier

Sir Paulus Matane, the governor general of Papua New Guinea (left, with white shorts and shirt) gives an hand to his entourage pushing a vehicle out of slippery and muddy water conditions in one of his visits to Rabaul, East New Britain Province

A fuel container trying to pass through a washed away section of the Highlands Highway also known as Okuk Highway

Police vehicles on normal patrol in oil and gas rich Mendi, Southern Highlands Province

Local women crossing a skeletion bridge in gold rich Wabag, Enga Province

A 25-seater used as a passenger vehicle (PMV) was crash between a landslide along the Okuk Highway between Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province and Kundiawa, Chimbu Province

By standers pointing to the awkward situation where passengers in the bus were trapped in a landslide along the Okuk Highway

Commuters along the Highlands Highway pose infront of a massive landslide which cut off all of the higlands provinces in Papua New Guinea

Passengers in a mini bus try to rescue the driver and his crew who got stuck in the slippery road conditions in one of the remote villages in Lae, Morobe Province

Villages pointing to a road completely cut of by heavy rain in the Mul/Baiyer district in Mount Hagen, Western Highlands Province

A semi-trailer heading toward Bulolo/Wau in the Morobe Province is caught here with another Papua New Guinea's road condition nightmares

This is a section of the Salt Nomane road near Warasua in Chimbu Province. This vehicle was loaded with coffee bound for Kundiawa. It took two hours to get out of this bog. These people have been driving from Nomane since 3am on October 17.

There are seven such sections on this road where the people had to “carry” this landcruiser to get this far. It was 3pm when this cameraman caught up with this car and its passengers. They travelled a full day for only 50km. To avoid this hardship, the people carry their coffee bags and climb up and down the treacherous Waghi gorge to either Omkolai, Gunage, Elimbari or Lufa to sell them.

Those who carry these coffee bags are known as “white horses” due to the long line of white bags crossing the Waghi River and walking up those ridges. Salt Nomane has 120km of feeder roads serving more than 30,000 people of two LLGs. The third part of this district, the Karimui LLG is not connected by road.

Bougainvilleans seen here driving across a intensified river after a heavy downpour. In the land of the unexpected, you can see and experience the unexpected. We take matters into our own hands, when governments fail to deliver the goods and services

Walking for days to sell coffee. Coffee growers from the Burum Kuat Local Level Government walking for days over mountains and rivers with their bags to sell their coffee beans in Lae.